The Ascent to Darkness
by Kyle G. Black
Summary: Chapter 6 is up! This chapter was supposed to be more, but I got so wrapped up in details...so it's not...but don't worry! It's still important! Thanks for reading!
1. The Nightmare Begins

Chapter 1

A Nightmare is Born

Azer sat at his desk. He stared down at the pile of work he had yet to do. There were papers all over his desk, and all of them needed to be read by tomorrow. He grunted.

He popped open his laptop and checked his email. He nearly missed the email at first glance, but there it was: his response from Professor Rowan. He could hardly believe it.

He opened the email and excitedly read its content aloud.

"Dear Azer, I'm very excited to inform you that after reviewing your application, I have chosen you to be my new assistant. You begin work this Monday. Be at my lab at Sandgem Town at 9:00 AM and your schooling will begin. I'm looking forward to working with you. Regards, Professor Rowan. P.S. Please bring your Munchlax, I'm anxious to get a look at him!"

Azer jumped up and opened Munchlax's ball.

"NOM!! WE GOT IT!"

Nom seemed unenthusiastic. In fact, he seemed quite tired. He climbed onto Azer's bed and began to nap. Azer laughed and rolled his eyes. He was so excited.

"I have to pack!"

He realized this was absurd, but needed some sort outlet for his enthusiasm.

Even though Azer lived at the University, he didn't keep much there. He knew he was going to land the apprenticeship, even if his parents didn't believe in him. The semester had barely gotten started and Azer was already packing up. He wondered if he would get his money back, but it didn't matter.

Then it him.

"I have to call Vax!"

He grabbed his phone and punched in his best friend's numbers. He sat on his bed while he waited for Vax to pick up. The phone continued to ring.

"Dammit, Vax! Pick up your phone!"

It was as if Vax had heard his command.

"What do you want? I'm very busy!" Barked Vax.

There was an awkward pause. Suddenly they both burst out in laughter. Azer was relieved to hear his voice. He hadn't seen Vax since he moved into his dormitory three weeks prior.

Azer stopped laughing first and initiated conversation.

"Vax, you won't believe what happened! Do you remem..." Azer was saying when Vax interrupted him.

"Me first," said Vax, "I got my first badge!"

Azer sat down on his bed. He was at a bit of a loss for what to say.

"Really, Vax? You beat Roark?" Azer questioned in disbelief.

Vax was beaming. "Yep! I was just about to call you actually. We must've finished fighting about ten or fifteen minutes ago. It was so epic, dude! was amazing! Oh wait! I caught a new pokemon! I managed to get a Krabby! I'm going to train him until he becomes a Kingler! Oh and then..." Vax was practically out of breath when Azer interrupted him.

"VAX! When's it going to be my turn to talk?" Azer was getting a bit impatient.

"Oh," remarked Vax, "I'm sorry. What was your news?" Vax finally stopped bragging.

Azer cleared his throat. "Professor Rowan wants me to be his new assistant!"

There was silence.

"Vax, are you there?" Azer thought he might have been disconnected.

"Yeah, sorry, I just fell over! That's incredible! Congratulations! I knew you'd get it! When are you leaving the University?" Vax sounded very excited.

"I have to start on Monday, so I've actually gotta get all my stuff together today. I still have to call my parents. You know they won't be happy..." Azer said begrudgingly.

"Who gives a flying 'Karp? This is a great opportunity! I'm coming to Goldenrod you can tell me all about it then! Alright, buddy? I gotta go! It was great hearing from you! See ya this weekend!" Vax said as he hung up

Azer closed the phone and chuckled. Vax was nothing like him, he was wild, untamable, and eclectic. Azer was very disciplined, on the other hand.

They had known each other since they were born and had lived next door to each other until they were twelve. This was when Azer's father had accepted a radio job in Goldenrod City in Johto. The day that Azer moved from Eterna City was the saddest day of his life. The two thought their friendship would fall apart, but that changed when Vax applied to a private school in Johto, in a small town just north of Goldenrod City. Azer applied there as soon as he found out that Vax got in, and he was accepted too.

Their friendship survived four years of private high school. When it came time for college, Vax knew he wouldn't go. He told Azer that he was going to enroll as a trainer in the Pokemon League and make it on his own. Azer wanted to do the same, but his parents forced him to go to Pallet Town University, the school started by Professor Samuel Oak.

Azer's parents told him that he could leave on one condition: he had to go right to work. Professor Rowan's offer would be more than enough to satisfy Azer's parents.

Azer plopped down onto his bed next to Nom. He really wanted to be a Trainer, like Vax. He had a perfectly good start pokemon and knew more than enough about Training. But he knew the opportunity to work with Rowan was once-in-a-lifetime, and he wasn't going to pass up the opportunity.

He did his homework about the job. He knew a little bit about the previous lab assistant. He even met her when he went for his interview. Her name was Dawn. Well, now it was Professor Dawn. He knew she was starting a Pokemon League Research Lab at the Indigo Plateau in Kanto. She had worked with the professor for a very long time and was sad that she was leaving but even she knew that it was time to go.

Dawn had contacted him after the interview and said she was very impressed with him and was hoping he would get the position. Azer knew that he should write her.

"I'll do it when I get home."

He woke up Nom. Nom yawned.

"Hey Nom, are you hungry?"

Azer said the magic word. Nom immediately sat up and opened his eyes.

"I thought so. I'm gonna head down to the cafeteria, do you want to come or should I bring your food back to you?"

Nom laid back down and shut his eyes.

"Doggy bag it is..." Azer said as he put his shoes on.

When he bent over to grab his left shoe, something strange happened. He shut his eyes and there was a purple line in his vision. It was directly centered and it appeared to be on fire, sort of. Azer tried to open his eyes, but he couldn't. He felt a rush of air blow from behind him.

Suddenly he was suspended in front of the purple tear, unable to move. He opened his eyes and saw only the purple tear. A shadowy figure appeared in front of the tear. The figure appeared to be on fire as well. The figure had deep purple eyes. It reached out to Azer.

"Destiny." It rasped. It's voice was an enigma. It was completely gender neutral. It was monotone. It was almost a whisper.

The figure moved forward and touched Azer.

"Your destiny...Your part...Your role is soon to come."

There was an incredible surge of heat. Suddenly Azer was above a city. He thought it was Goldenrod City, but there was no way to tell. Almost all the buildings had been reduced to rubble. There was fire everywhere.

Azer tried to scream, but couldn't. He looked up. The sky was black with purple lightning ripping through it.

Another surge of heat enveloped Azer. Suddenly he was in what looked like the ruins of an ancient temple. The sky was still black with the purple lightning streaking across it. There was an altar that was covered in black and purple cloths. Behind the altar was a staircase stretching into the sky. It was golden, and stuck out in the surrounding environment like a sore thumb.

Suddenly there were footsteps behind him. He turned to see who had entered. It was Vax. His clothes were dirty and torn. His hair was long and messy and he had a long scar on his right cheek.

He walked up past the altar. Azer tried to call out to him, but his voiced was silenced. Vax removed the cloths from the altar, revealing a magnificent golden altar with a beautiful engraving on the front. The engraving was of a swirling blue and pink vortex and in the center of the vortex, there was a pokemon. Azer edged towards the pokemon when Vax started running towards the staircase. Azer chased after him.

Vax ran up the staircase with Azer in tow. The ran for what seemed like hours. When they finally reached the top, Azer was exhausted. Vax showed the same signs of exhaustion. Azer turned around and saw that the ruined temple was no more than twenty-five feet away.

Suddenly, Vax cried out.

"I'm here to put an end to this. FACE ME!" Screamed Vax.

Azer couldn't be sure whom he was talking to exactly. Suddenly a voice boomed out from in front of him.

"You can't stop me now. It's too late." The voice echoed. Then the person burst out in laughter.

Vax held his ground. A purple light burst forth from the other side of the space they were in, illuminating a great hall with what seemed like an infinite amount of columns. At the other end, Vax's mystery person's silhouette was unveiled. His eyes glowed a deep purple.

Vax charged towards the other person. The stranger stuck out his hand and Vax froze in his place. Vax was then levitated towards the stranger.

"Let me see your eyes, Vax." The voice commanded.

Azer ran to Vax. He tried to pull Vax down, but couldn't touch him. He fell to the ground. He tried to look at the other person, but couldn't see their face, only the leering purple eyes.

"I shall miss you, Vax." Said the stranger. His tone made the statement seem counterfeit.

"I'm sorry..." Vax said with tears swelling in his eyes.

The figure seemed to shudder when Vax said that.

"Not to me you aren't! You're sorry for the pathetic soul inside" The stranger's voice boomed.

"Let me see that soul one last time." Vax barely managed to say that through his tears.

The figure stepped forward. Azer screamed when he saw the stranger.

It was Azer, or so it seemed. He was dressed in black robes. There were veins protruding from his skin and they were all purple. His hair was jet black and down past his shoulders. His eyes were glowing purple.

Suddenly, the purple stopped glowing, and the dream Azer's real eyes were in their place.

"Vax, I'm sorry. I..." Dream Azer's eyes erupted in purple.

Dream Azer spoke again, but this time there was sadness in his voice.

"Goodbye." Dream Azer whispered. Then he cackled.

"PATHETIC!" Dream Azer boomed.

Suddenly Vax exploded with a burst of purple sparks.

The real Azer screamed in terror. Then Dream Azer finally recognized the real Azer.

"I AM YOUR DESTINY!" Screamed the Dream Azer.

Suddenly Azer opened his eyes. He was on his floor and there was a huge bump on his head. It was pitch black in the room. He opened his phone. The light from the phone shot pain through his head. It was 9:51 PM. He had been unconscious for almost eight hours. He had a missed call from home on his phone.

"Nom!"

Azer jumped up, but immediately regretted it. His head throbbed.

"Whoa!"

He was light-headed and dizzy. Nom was still sleeping in Azer's bed. Azer poked him.

"I'm sorry buddy, are you still hungry?" Azer felt really badly. He knew Nom was hungry.

Nom ignored his poke. Azer picked him up.

"Oh my, you are getting heavy." He grabbed his keys and his jacket. He was carrying Nom like a child. He was going to miss being able to do that. Nom was about three months old, so he only weighed about forty pounds. By eight months, he expected Nom to weigh over a hundred pounds.

He paused in the threshold of the door. He guessed that he just hit his head and had a very bad dream while he was unconscious. This theory was beginning to settle with him when he saw something new in his room: a hole in the wall.

It was no bigger than a soda can, but it was new nonetheless. Azer put Nom back on the bed and grabbed his flashlight. He laid on the floor and shined the flashlight in the hole. He blinked as he did this and saw the purple tear. He gasped and dropped the flashlight.

He took a few deep breaths and picked up his flashlight. He shined it into the hole again. This time there was no purple tear, but there was something in the hole. It looked like a ring.

Azer grabbed a hangar and bent it straight. He stuck the hangar in the hole and snagged the ring. He examined his find.

It was a beautiful ring. The stone inside was purple with a ring of some black material around it. There were markings all over the ring in a foreign tongue. Azer took out the chain he wore around his neck. Already on the chain was a pokeball medallion that had a picture of him and Vax holding Nom and Evo, right after they had been born.

They were birthday gifts, because their birthdays were on the same day, from their friend Glynn. Her father was a breeder and she had him breed those two pokemon just for them as an eighteenth birthday present.

Azer undid the chain and put the ring on there as well. He would show this to Vax once he saw him. He was hesitant to tell him about the dream, but knew he eventually would.

Nom woke up on the bed and started making noises.

"Alright, fine, I'm coming, jeez!" Azer got up, although he did it slower this time.

He walked over to the bed and picked up Nom. He left the room. He was going to treat and himself and Nom to a delicious dinner. After all, he had something to celebrate.


	2. Professor Justa

Chapter 2

Professor Justa

It was 9:00 PM on Sunday night when Azer finally arrived in Sinnoh. Vax didn't have a chance to get to Goldenrod City. He agreed to meet Azer when his ship arrived in Sunnyshore City, and even then, it was a near three-hour bus ride to Vax's apartment in Jubilife City. Everyone thought Vax was crazy for having an apartment so close to his parents' house in Eterna City, but Vax loved Jubilife City.

A voice echoed over the loudspeaker.

"Now arriving in port thirteen: S.S. Anne from Vermillion City, connecting from Olivine City."

Vax headed over to port thirteen with the luggage trolley he picked up for Azer. He just pulled up to the gate when he heard a familiar doting voice.

"Nom! Come back here! No! Don't eat that! It's not yours! I'm sorry ma'am!" Azer said as he chased after his Munchlax.

Vax couldn't help but laugh. Nom must have heard Vax laugh. Vax was beginning to walk over to him when Nom practically took him down by attacking his legs. Vax laughed.

"I'm happy to see you too, Nom!" Vax said, bending over to give Nom a hug.

Nom seemed uninterested in Vax.

"Oh, of course, your buddy." Vax said, opening Evo's pokeball.

His little baby Eevee popped out of the ball and immediately caught sight of Nom; consequently, Nom began to chase Evo around the dock.

Vax and Azer jokingly said that Nom did this because he was trying to eat Evo. The two pokemon enjoyed a playful friendship though.

Nom and Evo were running after each other down the dock when Azer and Vax finally saw each other. Azer was loaded with bags but dropped them all to give Vax a hug.

They embraced each other for awhile. They had really missed each other.

Vax broke off first, wishing to initiate conversation. He bent over to help Azer re-gather his luggage.

"So how was the boat ride?" Vax asked.

Azer looked at him with a look of pure despair.

"Claustrophobia makes for a great bunkmate." Azer said sarcastically.

"It was unbearable. I didn't have a cabin. Nom and I spent the whole time on the deck, and it is cold on the ocean! The food was awful. The ship was packed. The ocean was rough…"

Vax burst out laughing.

"You can never find something right with anything!" He teased playfully.

Azer shot him a sarcastic glance.

"That's not true, I've managed to keep you around with minimal complaint." He retorted in the same playful spirit.

Vax smiled.

"I missed you too." He said as Azer smiled.

They made small talk while loading Azer's luggage on the trolley. A full ten minutes passed by without them realizing that they had no idea where their pokemon were. Panic-stricken and pushing a very heavy and unbalanced trolley, they ran down the dock.

"Nom?" Called Azer.

"Evo?" Becokned Vax.

There was silence. The two exchanged glances. The silence was suddenly shattered by the sound of crates falling over. The two ran towards the sound. They rounded a corner and saw Nom and Evo cornered by a scary looking fisherman.

"Back off, dude. Those pokemon are taken." Barked Vax.

Azer took out Nom's ball and was about to recall him.

"They be mine now, boys." Retorted the fisherman, as he took out two fresh pokeballs.

"Absolutely not!" Cried Azer.

Before he knew it, both he and Vax had withdrawn their secondary pokemon.

"Go, Mareep!" Commanded Azer.

"Go, Krabby!" Exclaimed Vax.

The two new pokemon stood proudly on the battlefield. The fisherman took out another pokeball.

"Go, Poliwag!" Ordered the fisherman.

"Mareep, Thundershock!" Ordered Azer.

"Krabby, use Bubble!" Echoed Vax.

Their two attacks hit the Poliwag at once. The blast knocked the poor thing over. The fisherman recalled the fallen Poliwag and ran away.

Vax and Azer recalled their secondary pokemon and ran to Nom and Evo.

Nom leaped into Azer's arms and buried himself in Azer's shoulder. Azer held Nom tightly. 

"I'm sorry. I hope you'll forgive me." Azer said apologetically.

He took out a candy bar from his pocket and offered it to Nom, who ate it with the wrapper on. Azer laughed and recalled Nom to his ball.

Vax was attending to Evo when he opened up dialogue.

"You managed to get him in the ball?" He said while recalling Evo.

Azer sighed.

"Yeah. It took a lot of work, but I finally got him used to it." Azer walked back over to the luggage trolley.

Vax moved over to the luggage trolley as well.

"Well, at least when he turns into a Snorlax you won't have that problem!" He smiled a bit.

They both enjoyed a small laugh.

Vax put his arm around Azer. 

"Cheer up, bro. It wasn't your fault. Plus, we saved them and scared that creeper off. They're going to be alright." Vax said optimistically.

"I know, I just feel bad." Replied Azer.

He started pushing the luggage trolley down the dock.

"Where's your car?" He asked.

Vax turned red. He completely forgot to tell Azer.

"I'm sorry, man. I had to put her in the shop yesterday. Transmission is shot. Don't worry! I thought ahead. I bought us bus tickets!" Vax said holding up two tickets.

Azer grunted.

"Great, three hours of claustrophobia and smelly old people heading to the slots in Hearthome!" Azer said sarcastically.

Vax laughed.

"Well think of it like this: it's three hours for you to tell me every little detail of your life in the past three weeks!" Vax said, not knowing what kind of response he was in for.

Azer smiled and continued walking. He was a bit pissed about the car, but at least Vax had the foresight to find another method of transportation.

They walked in relative silence across the street to the bus depot. Their bus was due to leave at 9:30 PM and they were right on time.

They loaded Azer's luggage into the bottom of the bus and then climbed into the carriage of the bus. It was startlingly empty. The two stood gazing in the front of the bus. Azer was the first to comment on this.

"Wow. I expected this bus to be packed." Azer said rather loudly.

The bus driver heard him.

"That's what I said when I saw the passenger manifest. It's just you two boys, me, a couple from Jubilife, and a guy heading to Canalave." The bus driver said in a gruff tone.

Vax leaned into Azer.

"I think that's enough interaction with the bus driver for tonight." Vax said in a whisper.

They both giggled and moved to their seats. The couple from Jubilife were sitting two or three seats back on the left side and the guy headed to Canalave was seated in the last seat at the back of the bus. Vax again leaned into Azer.

"That's not suspicious or creepy." He said sarcastically.

They both giggled again. The bus driver spoke again.

"You boys can sit wherever you want, seeing as how this is the full busload for the evening." He said this while he closed the door and turned over the ignition.

Vax and Azer took two seats opposite each other so they could have room to stretch out. Azer was itching to let Nom out of his ball, but the bus company had a strict no-pokemon policy. Azer cursed Vax for not having picked a bus line which welcome poetry. He stood up to put his sack in the overhead compartment. When he leaned over, his chain popped out of his shirt. Vax caught sight of the ring.

"Hey! What is that on your chain" Vax said referring to the ring.

Azer had completely forgotten about it. He moved over to Vax's seat. He lowered his voice.

"I have to tell you about something happened to me. It's going to seem strange but just hear me out." Azer said cautiously.

Vax leaned in.

"You can tell me anything, you know that. I'm all ears." Vax said with a reassuring smile on his face.

Azer inhaled.

"Okay. I was leaning over to put a shoe on and I guess and I must have hit my head. I must have passed out. I saw this weird purple tear. It was like it was on fire. Then I was in this ancient temple, and you were there. Except you were older and you had this scar on your face. We ran up this staircase and were inside another temple. You were there to confront this strange man. He picked you up with his mind and hung you in midair. You called out to him, and the man actually turned out to be me. Then I killed you. And then the man turned to me and told me that he was my destiny. Then I woke up and saw a little hole in the wall. I saw this ring inside and I took it with me. I have no idea what to think of all this. The ring has all this ancient writing on it and I can't decipher anything on it." Azer said, leaning on the edge of his seat.

Vax leaned back. His face was white. He stared at Azer. Vax opened his pack up and took out paper and a pen. He began scribbling. When he was done scribbling, he held up the picture. What Azer saw almost knocked him over. It was the purple tear, almost exactly the way he saw it in his dream.

"How did you…" Azer said, staring in disbelief.

Vax leaned back in.

"It's the Scar. I'm surprised you didn't recognize it. Don't you remember it from my grandfather's history class?" Vax questioned.

It hit Azer. He remembered all of the sudden. He remembered being in second year at the private school. Vax's grandfather, a very famous historian, taught a special class on Pokemon mythology. The class was only open to seniors but Vax's grandfather let the boys into the class.

He spent half of the semester discussing signs of darkness. The Scar was an enigma as far as that went. No scholar actually knew what the Scar stood for or symbolized or whether it indicated the light or the dark. Azer couldn't believe he forgot about that. He wrote a midterm paper on the Scar.

"Remember your paper, dummy?" Vax said hitting Azer on the head.

"I do now, yeah. Maybe all this is just a manifestation of that information trying to come out again?" Azer said, theorizing.

"How do you explain the ring then?" Vax retorted.

Azer didn't know. He sat bewildered. He wondered what all this meant. He moved back over to the adjacent seat.

"My grandfather is in town. He's staying with mom and dad in Eterna. We'll go to him." Vax said.

"I have work tomorrow, genius. I'm not missing my first day." Azer said sternly.

Vax laughed.

"I don't want you to miss your first day, dummy. He's here in Sinnoh doing some research in the Eterna Mansion. I have no idea what's so relevant about that to pokemon history, but whatever. He'll be here for a couple of months. Mom is oh so thrilled." Vax said sarcastically.

He continued.

"We can go see him tomorrow when Professor Rowan lets you go for the day. Or better yet, maybe he'll come to us! I can call him and tell him about the ring. He'll probably cancel his research on the Mansion and come bunk with us!" He said enthusiastically.

He reached into his pocket. He dialed his grandfather's number.

"Hello, Professor Justa!" Said Vax as he turned on the speakerphone.

"Hello, Vax!" Echoed his grandfather.

"Hey, Professor Justa!" Chimed Azer.

"Could that be Azer Gitel?" Questioned the professor.

"Yes, sir." Replied Azer.

"You two are together, what nonsense are you up to now?" Joked the professor.

"Azer has been chosen as Professor Rowan's assistant, Professor!" Said Vax excitedly.

"You're going to work for that old fool? Good luck, boy. Maybe he can set you up with a real professor of pokemon, perhaps Birch or Oak?" Said Vax's grandfather.

They both laughed.

"So what's up, boys? You don't call an old man at 10:00 PM on a Sunday night if it's not important." Said the professor a bit impatiently.

"Azer found a ring, Sir. It has some ancient transcription on it. We've tried translation, but it's nothing we've ever seen before. The ring looks ancient. A purple stone is set in the center with a black outline. Does that mean anything to you?" Questioned Vax.

"You bet it does! Sounds like it could be an heirloom from the old Varan family! Did you find it in the Castle at PLU, Azer?" Said the old man excitedly.

"Yes, sir. I dormed in the Castle at PLU. I found it there the other day." Azer replied.

"Fantastic! I'd love to see it. Can't you take a picture with that mobile phone or something, Vax?" Asked the old man.

Vax complied.

"I see it…oh my. This is big, boys. Keep that ring safe. I'm coming to see you in Jubilife tomorrow. I'll be there in the late afternoon. I have something important in the Mansion tomorrow. I'll leave as soon as it's done. I'm going back to bed, boys. Keep the ring safe." He hung up.

They sat staring at each other. Azer didn't know what to think. He sat back and his seat and exhaled.

"Wow." He said quietly, with his eyes fixed on the floor.

Vax opened up his bag and took out two sandwiches. Azer knew just how lacking Vax's skills were when it came to anything dealing with food.

"I'm not hungry." He lied.

Vax tossed him a sandwich.

"Yes you are. And don't worry, I didn't make them." Vax said tearing into his.

Azer was confused.

"If you didn't make them who did?"

"I 'et 'his chic' at a 'okem'n 'enter." Vax said with a full mouth. He swallowed and clarified.

"I met this chick at a Pokemon Center a few weeks ago. We've been seeing each other. She came over and made the sandwiches for us. Azer smiled and then burst out into laughter. He tried to stifle himself because of the other people on the bus.

"That's cute, Vax." Azer said giggling.

Vax threw his sandwich at Azer, which he immediately regretted.

"So when do I get to meet her?" Teased Azer.

"Never, if you keep it up." Vax said angrily.

Azer laughed again.

"I'm sorry. It's just weird. The last time you were in a relationship was…man that had to be…oh…sorry" Azer said hanging his head.

"Yeah." Vax said turning his back to Azer.

Azer knew he crossed the line and sat forward in his seat. The bus ride continued in silence. Azer was excited for the next day but also had his doubts about meeting with Professor Justa. He was determined to forget about all of this for his first day of work with Professor Rowan.

He stared out the window, but all he saw was darkness.


	3. Dani

Chapter 3

Dani

The bus didn't arrive in Jubilife City until very late due to a heavy fog. Azer was napping when Vax woke up him. By the time they got to the apartment, it was nearly 3:00 AM. Azer was happy that Vax had found such a good apartment. He was confused why there was one room that had remained undecorated and unfurnished. He asked Vax about it.

"It's yours, dummy." Vax said groggily.

Azer hadn't even thought about living arrangements in Sinnoh. He was overjoyed. He loved the apartment. It was humongous. The rent was great and the building was pokemon friendly. He said nothing but thank you to Vax until they went to bed. Azer slept on the pullout couch.

He awoke the next morning to the smell of an amazing breakfast. He climbed out of "bed" and went to the shower. It was only halfway through his shower that he realized that someone was there making breakfast. He quickly finished and put on his clothes. Professor Rowan hadn't specified what he was supposed to wear, so he put on a shirt, tie, and dress pants. He burst out of the bathroom and was face to face with a gorgeous woman.

"You must be Azer!" She exclaimed.

He almost fell over. She was stunning. She was tall, slender, and had a great smile. Her hair was a flowing blonde. Her eyes sparkled a beautiful blue.

"Yes…I am." He said straightening himself up. He extended a hand. "And your name is…?"

"I'm Tyrla! Vax has told me so much about you. And put that hand away silly." She wrapped her arms around, gave him a hug, and kissed his cheek. She smelled great.

"I just stopped by to make you boys some breakfast for your big day before I went to work!" She exclaimed. She certainly had a lot of energy for 7:00 AM.

Azer stepped out of the bathroom and started playing with his hair.

"Where do you work?" Azer said, still playing with his her.

She started walking down the hall back to the kitchen.

"I own a Pokemon Beauty Salon in Jubilife. Perhaps you've heard of it? The Beautician and Your Beast." She said smiling.

Azer almost fell over again.

"You own Beautician and Your Beast!? Of course I've heard of it, it's world famous!" He said, eyes agog. He was wondering just how Azer managed to meet her, no less date her.

She giggled and walked back into the kitchen.

"How do you like your eggs?" She said cracking open two eggs into a bowl.

"I don't, actually. I'm sorry. I hope that wasn't too much trouble…" He said blushing.

"Nonsense! I've got plenty of other things for you to eat. How about a bagel? Some sausage? Bacon? Cereal? Waffles?" She said smiling at Azer.

"Sausage, waffles, and a bagel would hit the spot right about now…" He hadn't eaten since the sandwich the night before and before then, he ate on Sunday morning. He was starving.

"You got it." She said, going to work.

Azer looked around.

"Where's Vax?" Azer questioned.

"Out for a morning jog. He goes a couple days a week." Tyrla shouted over her shoulder.

Azer got up and went to the living room, looking for a newspaper.

"If you're looking for the paper, I've got it in here." Tyrla said from the kitchen.

Azer smiled and walked back into the kitchen.

"Are you done with it?" Azer said patiently.

She tossed him the paper.

"I only read the Society the section. I need as much gossip as I can get. Working with the snobs is difficult when you're not a snob yourself." She said laughing.

Azer smiled and laughed a bit too. He looked down and read the headline aloud, as if in disbelief.

"Magnet Train Service to Be Extended to Sinnoh and Hoenn!" Azer nearly screamed.

Tyrla dropped a pan. Azer ran over and helped he clean up the spilled egg whites. He was shaking from excitement.

"I'm so sorry, it's just that my father is an executive at Silph Co. He was one of the original designers of the Magnet Train. Obviously, it's been quite some time since he really had anything to do besides minor updates and revisions to the Train's operation. We've been worried that they were going to let him go, but this changes everything!" Azer said excitedly, flipping through the newspaper trying to find the rest of the story.

"Read it out loud, dear." Asked Tyrla.

He was more than happy to comply.

"The announcement came yesterday from Harvey Gitel, Vice President of Magnet Train Operation, one of the original designers of the Magnet Train. (That's my dad!) He confirmed that he was supervising the extension. He only gave vague details, hinting that geological surveys would begin as soon as possible and continue through the winter, with the earliest possible groundbreaking being spring of the year after next. 'This is a major project.' Commented Gitel. 'We've already got a few ideas for the Sinnoh extension but the Hoenn extension is a different story. A region surrounded mostly by water creates a bit of a conundrum for us, but Silph Co. will prevail!' Promised Gitel. He later went on to suggest that there would be new stations added for the Magnet Train in Johto and Kanto, expanding the linearity of the failing transit line. 'We have eighteen new stations designed for Johto and Kanto combined. We're very excited about this project. And we would like to thank one of our partners in this endeavor: Ampha Electricity." Azer said, almost out of breath.

Tyrla was puzzled.

"Whose Ampha Electricity?" She asked.

"They're a power company who gained notoriety when they restored the lighthouse in Olivine City. Ever since, they've been contracted by the Pokemon League to update the circuiting in the Indigo Plateau complex, hired by the Pokemon Center Corporation to update all the centers on the planet basically, and a slew of other projects. They've very big in Johto especially since they're based out of Goldenrod City. It makes sense that Silph would turn to them for financial backing." Azer commented

He continued reading.

"More good news for the Gitel family: there's a rumor spreading around that Azer Gitel, Harvey Gitel's son, was selected by Professor Rowan to be his research assistant." Azer said, blushing.

"Harvey's wife, former Kanto Gym Leader Erika Gitel also caught the attention of the public recently when she announced the creation of a Floral Show that will convene annually in select cities around the world. Erika has been a prominent figure in the horticulture world ever since the Pokemon League terminated her for failure to disclose her pregnancy. The termination threw the Pokemon League in the middle of a wrongful termination suit that was settled out of court for an unspecified amount." Azer read snidely.

"They certainly know a lot about your family." Remarked Tyrla.

Azer nodded his head in agreement. He was a little bitter about their mention his mom's "termination" and ensuing lawsuit. It was still a sore subject to him, since Azer was the reason she wasn't a gym leader anymore. He put down the paper and walked over to his bag.

"Not gonna read anymore?" Tyrla asked.

"Nah. I've had enough of my family being in the media for one day." Azer said spitefully.

Tyrla walked out of the kitchen with a plate with his breakfast on it. It looked and smelled amazing.

"Tyrla this is fantastic! Thank you so much!" Azer said, almost grabbing the plate from her. She sat down on the couch next to him. He was inhaling the food. It was amazing.

"Can I ask you something? I saw a picture of Vax and this other girl on his bedside table. What's the deal with that?" Tyrla asked.

Azer almost choked. Tyrla reacted and patted his back. Azer managed to swallow the chunk of food already in his mouth.

"I'm not sure I should be the one to tell you, really." He said putting down his plate.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't realize it was that sensitive of a subject." She said blushing.

Azer felt bad. He liked Tyrla and she deserved to know.

"Alright. I'll tell you but this is our secret. Okay?" Azer said.

Tyrla nodded.

"The girl in the picture was Vax's last girlfriend. They met practically the first day that Vax and I moved into private school. She was dorming on our floor. Her name is Dani. Dani and Vax hit it off pretty fast. They were dating by the end of the first week of school. They were a great couple. Everybody knew Vax and Dani. They were the King and Queen of the Freshmen Frost Ball. They cared a lot for each other. They made plans to stay at school during the summer break just to be together. They stayed strong through our sophomore year too. Then, over the summer break of that year, me, Vax, Dani, and one of her friends decided to do a camping trip on Mt. Silver. Shortly after the trip started, Dani's friend caught a rash from one of the plants and we wanted to get to the hospital. I didn't want to cut Dani and Vax's trip short, so I volunteered to take her to the medical center at the base of the mountain. I wound up staying the night at the medical center with the girl. When I went up to our campsite the next morning, everything was a mess. It looked like someone or something had ripped it apart. Vax was lying on the ground. He had a concussion and a broken leg. I called out for Dani and took a look around the surrounding area, but I got nothing, and Vax needed medical attention. To this day, Vax has no idea what happened that night. He remembers me leaving with Dani's friend and then he woke up in the medical center. We called in the Rangers. They surveyed the whole mountain, but found nothing. One Ranger went to check out Silver Cave, but he never came back. The Rangers told us there had been a string of odd disappearances in that region for quite some time." Azer said, stopping to take a sip of the orange juice Tyrla had prepared for him.

She sat staring.

"Did they ever find Dani?" She said, almost on the verge of tears.

Azer shook his head.

"Nope. Mt. Silver's been a restricted area ever since. In a nine month span, forty-one people disappeared and it all had the same basic setting too." Azer said, taking another sip from the orange juice.

"I'm sorry to change the subject for a moment, but do we have an Brock's here?" Azer said, thinking of Nom and Mareep.

"Brock's PokeChow? You bet we do! How many bowls do you need?" She said getting up.

"Just two." Azer said, withdrawing Nom and Mareep.

Tyrla prepared the bowls and brought them out. Nom caught site of her before she put the food down. He ran towards her. Azer jumped up from the couch and grabbed him before he could knock over Tyrla.

"Sorry about that, Nom is very impolite when it comes to his getting food." Azer said, blushing.

Tyrla giggled.

"That's quite alright. I love Munchlax! They're adorable!" She said, inspecting him.

"You do quite a nice job of raising him. He has a great coat, great set of teeth, and he's adorable to boot!" She said moving over to Mareep.

"This Mareep is very well kept too. Very fluffy coat, adorable eyes, nicely maintained nails, great set of teeth here too, and also incredibly cute!" She said turning to Azer.

"You have two very wonderful pokemon. Hopefully they'll reach their full capability as a Snorlax and an Ampharos some day.

Azer blushed again. Nom had already finished his food, and Azer could tell he wanted more. He went into the kitchen to prepare him another bowl.

"So how hard did Vax take all of this?" Tyrla asked quietly.

Azer lowered the refilled bowl to the floor.

"Pretty hard at first. The first week was pretty rough. As the summer went on, he did a lot better, though. Of course, when school started up again, everyone asked him about it, which definitely didn't help things. He started having a recurring nightmare about. He missed the second half of our junior year for counseling. When he came back that fall, he was the same old Vax. I can tell that he still thinks about it every now and then, but for the most part, I guess, it's just water on the bridge." Azer said, collecting Mareep's bowl and putting him back in his ball.

Tyrla walked back into the kitchen. Nom finished his second helping and stared at Azer, indicating that he wanted more.

"No way. You're gonna get fat." Azer said, returning Nom to his ball.

Tyrla walked over and picked up her bag.

"Well I hate to leave you, but I have to go open up the boutique. It was a pleasure to meet you, Azer." She said embracing Azer.

"No, the pleasure is all mine. I'll see you soon." Said Azer.

She turned and exited the apartment.

Azer sat back down on the couch. He hadn't thought about Dani in a long. It was also the first time he told the story in over a year. He picked up his pack and took out a picture of him, Dani, and Vax. He missed her too. He and Dani were very good friends. No one had ever stopped to ask Azer how he dealt with losing her, except the school psychiatrist. He put the picture back and started going through his mental checklist of the contents of his bag, making sure he had everything for when he went to work. He got up to leave and Vax entered the apartment, dripping with sweat and with Evo at his side.

"Hey, bro. You off to work?" Vax said, panting.

"Yeah, I am. Don't wanna be late on day one!" Azer said trying to avoid touching the sweaty Vax.

"Well come 'ere! Gimme a hug!" Vax said moving towards him.

Azer tried to dodge him but Vax caught him. He was about to embrace Azer when he burst out laughing.

"I'm just kidding! Have a great first day!" Vax said, going to the kitchen for a bottle of water.

Azer was about to leave when Vax ran over.

"Oh! Here's your key! You'll definitely need that." He said handing Azer a key. "What else…what…else…oh! Grandfather's coming down around 6:00 PM tonight. We're going to dinner to discuss the ring. I'll tell you more when you get home from work!" Vax said.

"Have fun!" He said, walking into the bathroom and shutting the door behind him.

Azer rolled his eyes. He was apprehensive about meeting with Professor Justa, but ignored that. He had to think about work with Professor Rowan. He took a deep breath, held his head up, and walked out the door.


	4. Rowan is a Liar

Chapter 4

Rowan is a Liar

Azer arrived in Sandgem with fifteen minutes to spare. The public transportation was unusually punctual, but Azer didn't mind. He went to a vendor and looked for a magazine to hold him over. He saw a bunch of junk magazines, but couldn't find his favorite magazine: EVOLUTION. It was a magazine that was specifically focused on how to raise Pokémon to their maximum potential. He enjoyed reading the articles on the featured Pokémon. An article on Ampharos is what sparked his interest in finding a Mareep. He asked the vendor if they had it in stock, but he was informed that they were waiting for the newest issue and were out of stock on the previous one. 

Azer shrugged it off and headed for Professor Rowan's lab. It was just a short walk away from the train station, which Azer was happy about. 

The lab was a very impressive edifice. There was a huge gold plaque outside that identified it as Professor Rowan's lab. As Azer approached the door, it slid open for him. He found himself inside a rather large reception area. There were two couches, a small fountain, several trees, and a reception desk. Azer walked up to the desk.

"Hi, I'm Azer Gitel, Professor Rowan's new assistant." He said with a smile.

The girl behind the desk jumped up.

"I'm Harley, the receptionist! We're all very excited to have you with us Azer! Please follow me!" She was bubbly, sort of like Tyrla. Azer speculated that Harley wasn't as smart, however.

He followed her over to a spiral staircase. They climbed up it. It was made of a very finely polished metal. They walked down a hallway and came to a stop outside two impressive oak doors. 

"This is Professor Rowan's office, go inside and have a seat! Would you like coffee or breakfast or anything else?" She said, opening the door.

"No, thank you. I ate before I came." Azer said, remembering Tyrla's delicious breakfast.

"Okay. Just to let you know, I'm sort of everyone's assistant. I get coffee, bagels, and doughnuts, whatever you want! Let me know! Have a great first day!" She said. She then turned and walked back down the hallway.

Azer inhaled and walked into the office. He was disappointed to find it empty, but he sat, as instructed. He glanced around the office. There was a humongous bookcase, filled with loads of books. Various diplomas hung from the wall. There was an impressive array of trophies and awards displayed on the windowsill. 

He wasn't sitting long when Professor Rowan entered. The Professor went and sat at his desk without noticing Azer. While seated, he looked up at Azer and let out a cry of surprise.

"Oh! I didn't know you were here yet! Punctual! I like that!" He said extending his hand. "It's good to see you again, my boy!" 

"Great to see you too, sir." Azer said accepting the handshake. 

Professor Rowan stood up and walked over to Azer's side.

"You brought the Munchlax, right?" Professor Rowan said excitedly.

Azer took out Nom's ball and opened it.

"His name is Nom." Azer said as Nom left his ball.

Nom looked around, then shut his eyes and went to sleep. Professor Rowan chuckled. He went around to his bag and took out a doughnut. He snapped his fingers at Nom, who sleepily opened an eye. Nom then caught sight of the doughnut and both his eyes shot open. Professor Rowan laughed again and gave Nom the doughnut. Nom devoured it in one bite, and then shut his eyes again.

"Very healthy Munchlax. Some trainers find them too difficult to raise. It's difficult to know just how much to feed them; however, you don't seem to have any trouble at all! That's splendid. He's ball trained too, which is difficult for Munchlax sometimes. He's a great height for his age." Rowan said, bending over to examine Nom.

He picked up the Munchlax and judged his weight.

"Excellent weight, as well!" Rowan said putting Nom down. "You have an excellent Pokémon here, son."

Azer blushed. He got that compliment a lot, but never got used to it.

"I just do what I feel is right, sir. Nothing more." Azer patting, Nom on the head.

"Hearing you say that makes me feel more confident in a decision that I've just made." Rowan said smirking.

Azer was confused.

Rowan sat down in his chair. His smirk widened. His eyes were fixed on Azer.

"What would you say if I told you didn't dress right for this job today?" Rowan said with a smile.

"I'd be confused, sir." Azer said honestly.

"I have too many Lab Assistants, little monkeys that run around and do nonsense work all day. I need someone with a brain. I need someone who can think. That's why I picked you. And now I have a confession to make. The job description on the application was a lie."

Azer shifted nervously in his chair.

"I need someone to be a trainer for me." Rowan blurted out.

Azer nearly fell over. 

"I want someone to take a Pokedex, go out, fill it up, get the Badges, work their way through the Pokémon league, all the stuff." Rowan said, staring at Azer.

Azer was speechless.

"I'll assume you're up to the task?" Rowan said, smiling again.

Azer nodded. No words could come out of his mouth.

"Great! Here's how it works. You take my Pokedex and some gear and get to it! You'll be completely funded by me, of course. I'll give you a basic salary, and throw bonuses your way whenever you hit something major: concur a gym, hit a certain mark in the Pokedex, evolve a Pokémon, etc." Rowan said standing up.

Azer was finding it hard to breath. Rowan glanced over at Azer and noticed that he was red in the face.

"Are you alright, son?" Rowan said, offering Azer a glass of water. 

Azer chugged down the glass.

"Yeah, I'm just finding this all a bit…surreal." Azer said in disbelief.

Rowan chuckled.

"I promise you, Azer. It's really happening. Now, follow me. I'm going to give you your equipment and get you on your way. And take that silly tie off, boy!" Rowan said as Azer complied. 

They walked down the hall and entered a door on the left. Azer found himself in a room overlooking all of Rowan's estate. There were countless researchers chasing around Pokémon with measuring equipment and clipboards. He felt like a kid in a candy store. 

"This, for the most part, is my main lab." Professor Rowan said smiling. "I take great pride in all the work that is done here. At any given time, I'm responsible for supervising over twenty research projects. Our lab does about nine-hundred projects per-year, making us the busiest Pokémon in Sinnoh and the second busiest lab in the world, second only to Professor Oak's main lab in Pallet Town."

The door shut behind them and the capsule they were in began to move, much to Azer's surprise. He gasped a bit.

"Relax, it's just an elevator." Rowan said as they were lowered to the research floor. Azer was reminded of the floor of a stock exchange at its busiest. They elevator came to a gentle stop on the floor and the doors slid open. 

As Azer and the Professor walked by, every researcher stopped and bid the pair a good morning. Azer felt important while he was walking next to Rowan. They came to a halt outside a door. Azer saw a plaque that read "Trainer's Lounge." The doors slid open and Rowan bade Azer to enter. He obliged.

He suddenly found himself in a very calm room. There were comfortable-looking sofas, a few computer stations, an ATM, and a Pokémon healing machine. Rowan turned to Azer.

"Have a seat, I'm going to get your equipment, have a seat. I'll be back in a few minutes." Rowan said as he walked through a door that read "Equipment Closet." 

Azer sat down. He took out his phone and began to text message Vax. He tried to cram as much as he could into one message and tried to make it coherent. His excitement made both of those seemingly impossible. Azer sent the message and gazed up on the wall. 

There were pictures of loads of trainers with their starting Pokémon and there were two of each picture. Azer guessed that they were of trainers when they first started and then once again towards the end of their journeys. There were at least thirty pictures on the wall. There was a huge variety of trainers and their Pokémon. Azer recognized a few of the more famous names. There were a few gym leaders, a news anchor, an actress, and a member of the Elite Four. 

Rowan walked back through a door with a backpack and a huge grin on his face.

"You'll have to forgive my excitement, Azer. It's not everyday that I get to start someone off on their adventure. It's something I really enjoy." He said handing the pack to Azer. "Open it up."

Azer complied and was almost blown away at how much was in the pack. There were at least fifty pokeballs, a lamp, a first aid kit, a canteen, a compass, a map of the Sinnoh region, a pack of batteries, a reusable silverware set, a retractable clothesline, a notebook, and a pack of pens.

"Look at the bottom." Said Rowan.

Azer zipped up the bag and turned it over. Attached to the bottom were a sleeping bag and a tent. 

"Professor Rowan, this is awesome!" Azer said.

"Put it on, see how it feels." Rowan said.

Azer complied. He was amazed at how light the pack was. It couldn't have weighed more than five pounds. It felt great on his shoulders. He gazed at Rowan. 

"How is this possible?" He said agog.

"I could tell you, but I'd have to kill you. It's patented technology." Rowan said smirking. "I have two more things for you." 

Rowan handed Azer a huge leg holster. 

"Here's your Pokedex. This is a leg holster for it. There's an extra battery in there, and a charger. It's all you'll ever need for that. Do you know how they work?" Rowan said helping Azer put it on his leg. 

"No, not at all." Azer said honestly. 

Rowan withdrew the device. He opened a pokeball that was on his belt and out came a Pikachu. The Pikachu stood at attention.

Rowan bent over and opened the pokedex. 

"There are some customizable options on here, you can play with them when you get some time. Basically, all you have to do is take it out, line up the camera and take a picture. There's a red dot on the screen, you have to make sure the red dot is centered on the Pokémon; otherwise the picture will be pointless. The pokedex takes over the analysis from there. It may ask you to do some additional analysis tasks, so just comply if it does. Its instructions will be very clear, I promise. It will automatically transmit any new data back to the hub here at the lab. Accordingly, you can retrieve data from the hub on any species we have in the database. You try it." He said handing the pokedex to Azer.

Azer lined up the red dot on the Pikachu and took a picture. The pokedex went right to work. Rowan took the device and looked at the picture.

"Hmm…excellent. Nice shot. Obviously getting a shot of a moving Pokémon will be difficult at first, but you'll get good at it the more that you do it." Rowan said handing the device back to Azer.

"Now this device is your Mokena. This is a multi-purposed device. It's a phone, a camera, a web browser, a GPS, and loads of other fun things. You can take the SIM card out of your phone and put it in here, so all the information on that phone will be transferred." Rowan said handing the device and its charger to Azer. 

"We have three more things to go over. The first is this: you're PRT Card." Rowan said, handing what looked like a credit card to Azer.

"The PRT Card gives you access to your finance account. You are authorized to spend $40 per day on meals, $500 on lodging per week, and you are given $1500 in expenses. This card gives you access to that money, as well as your salary. Second: normally I don't pay trainers salary, but yours is a special case. This IS your job, so I'm going to give an annual salary of $125,000. I'm going to give a bi-weekly paycheck of $5220. That will be directly deposited into an account created for you that is accessible via the PRT Card at any ATM. Your pay will be issued every other Friday, starting this Friday. I'm going to give you a $2500 bonus today since this is your first day on the job, and I'm sure you'll want to celebrate. Whenever you hit major accomplishments, I'll throw you some bonus money."

Azer was shocked. He went from being a student in debt, to making half as much as his father, a Silph Co executive, makes in about five days. It was very overwhelming.

"Finally, your Trainer Card. This is your license to be a trainer in the Pokémon League. Don't lose it. Sign it right here." Rowan said pointing to the back. Rowan handed him a pen.

Azer signed the back and his signature was immediately converted to an electronic image. 

"Yes, the card is electronic. Don't lose it, they're expensive. There's a slot on your PokeNav for it, slide it in there." Rowan said as Azer complied. 

Rowan stood up.

"Take today and tomorrow off. On Wednesday, I want you to head out in the field and gather a couple of Pokedex entries as well as do some training. After that, it's all up to you. If you haven't made progress in a month, we're going to reconsider all of this. But I have a great feeling about you. Let's make a deal, get your first badge in sixty days or less. Is that fair?" Rowan said extending his hand.

"I'll have two badges in sixty days, Professor." Azer said confidently, shaking Rowan's hand.

Rowan chuckled.

"That's what I like to hear, boy!" Rowan said breaking off the handshake.

"Now, I'll assume you can see yourself out. I have to get to work." Professor Rowan said.

"Yep, thank you so much Professor! I'll call you Wednesday to let you know how I made out!" Azer said exiting the room.

"Very good, my boy. Talk to you then!" Rowan said exiting and heading down the hall towards the main research floor. 

Azer spied a door marked exit and ran to it. He burst out and when he was sure the door had shut, he burst out in laughter. He was screaming and jumping up and down. He thought he saw a field researcher looking at him, but he didn't care. He had never been this happy before.


	5. Vax V Justa Round 1

Chapter 5

Justa V. Vax – Round 1

Vax sat back on the couch. He couldn't believe what Azer had just texted him. He immediately texted back and asked Azer to call him when he got the chance. He sat back on the couch. He was a bit jealous of Azer. 

Vax took a risk in becoming a pokemon trainer. Azer filled out a job application. He was happy for his best friend, he was sure of that. But he couldn't help but be a bit envious of him. Vax went to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water. He sat down with the paper and began skimming for something to read. His eyes immediately fixed on the same article Azer had read aloud to Tyrla earlier in the day. 

He read the article in full by the time his phone went off. He immediately ran to the living room and grabbed it. It was Azer.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?" Vax screamed into the phone.

Azer screamed back.

"I'M A TRAINER FOR ROWAN NOW!" Azer screamed excitedly.

"Wow, didn't see that one coming…" Vax said.

"Yeah, neither did I. It's amazing. I got all this equipment, and he's gonna pay me, a lot! I'm going furniture shopping before your grandpop gets to the apartment. I need a bed!" Azer said.

"Are you on your way home now?" Vax questioned.

"Yeah. I just got off the train. I'm gonna stop at that furniture store on 13th Street before I come home. Did you want to meet me there?" Azer said.

"Nah, I can't. Professor Justa is due here soon and I don't want to miss him." Vax said.

"Okay. I should be home in about fifteen minutes. I'll tell you everything when I get there. Bye, bro!" Azer said.

"Talk to you later, pal." Said Vax as he hung up the phone. 

He had barely put the phone on the table when there was a knock at the door. He knocked over his bottle of water in surprise. He threw the newspaper on it to try and stop the spread of water.

"Just a second!" He screamed frantically.

"I'm an old man, I don't have a second, open this door young man." Justa barked from the other side.

Vax cursed loudly. He wasn't even dressed. 

"WATCH YOUR MOUTH!" His grandfather screamed again.

Vax scrambled for the door and opened it. He was hunched over.

"You look like crap." Professor Justa said nonchalantly.

"You look old." Vax retorted. 

They stared at each other for a minute, then laughed and embraced each other.

"It's good to see you, Professor Justa." Vax said ending the embrace.

"It's good to see you too, boy." Justa said entering the apartment. "Nice place you've found. I assume one of those rooms is Azer's." 

"Yeah, his is on the right. Mine is down the hall, second door. The first door is the bathroom. There's also a little office down the hall on the right too, I've put up a cot in there for you." Vax said wiping up the water with the newspaper.

"Not necessary. I'm staying with a colleague who lives a few blocks away." Justa said, sitting on the couch.

"Oh, alright. Would you like something to eat or drink?" Vax said heading towards the kitchen.

"Just the good stuff, if you've got it." Justa said loudly.

Vax nodded his head. His grandfather wanted a shot of Dragonbreath, an archaic liquor that Vax had taken a shine to thanks to his grandfather. He poured out two shots. It was a bit early to start drinking, but Vax knew his grandfather wouldn't care. He walked back into the living room and handed his grandfather his share. They raised their glasses.

"To the Apocalord, Azer!" Exclaimed Justa.

Vax was halfway through his shot when he realized what his grandfather said. He choked on the beverage.

"What did you say?" Barked Vax.

"It was a joke, boy. The signs do point to it though…" Remarked Justa.

"Just wait until you hear the dream to make any judgment." Pleaded Vax.

"Of course." Replied Justa.

Vax stood up and walked to the kitchen. 

"Calm down, Vax. I'm sure that's not the case, but we musn't rule it out." Justa said from the living room.

Vax walked back into the living room and sat down.

"Would you mind if I popped into the bathroom. The train was hot and I was sweating a bit. I'd like to wash up." Justa said standing up.

"Of course not. First door on your left." Vax said pointing down the hall. Justa walked down the hall.

Vax followed him right down the hall, but kept going to his room. He put on a pair of jeans and and a t-shirt with the symbol of the Temporal-Spatial Crest, a swirl of pink and blue with a black triangle in the center of their vortex. He wore the shirt a lot. As a result, the design was very faded.

He knocked on the bathroom door.

"I'm gonna go to the market at the corner and grab some bread. Do you need anything?" Vax said loudly.

"No. I'm fine, thanks. I'll see you in a bit." Replied Justa.

Vax grabbed his keys, left the apartment, and locked the door behind him. He walked down the stairs and went out the front door. 

As soon as he walked out the building's door, he bumped into Azer.

"I'm having people drop off my bed and some other furniture I bought today. They'll be here around 3:00. Is that okay?" Azer asked.

"Yeah, sure." Vax wasn't worried, their apartment was first floor, so getting the furniture in was no big deal. 

"Where're you off to?" Azer asked.

"I gotta grab a loaf of bread. We're out." Vax replied. "By the way," he continued, "here's your key to the apartment. That also opens the mailbox." He said, tossing Azer his key. 

"Thanks man. I'm gonna head in and get changed, I'll see you in a few." Azer said as he entered the building.

Vax continued down the street. He entered the market. The bread was right at the front of the store, further simplifying his visit. He grabbed a fluffy-feeling loaf and headed towards the counter. On the way, the beverage freezer crossed his line of vision. He walked over and took a look at what was inside. He reached in for another bottle of Dragonbreath. He also grabbed a bottle of mineral water from the fridge to the left. He continued towards the counter, grabbing a pack of gum before finally arriving. 

"Hey. Can I get a pack of FireSticks?" Vax said, flashing his ID. He didn't smoke much, but he loved FireSticks. They were basic cigarettes, except the leaves were dipped in a cinnamon sauce, providing a great after taste. Vax smoked no more than a pack a week. 

He gave the clerk his credit card, who swiped it accordingly. Vax was strapped for cash so he had to use the card. The clerk bagged all of his stuff and Vax set back towards the apartment. He was tempted to smoke a FireStick, but decided to save them. 

He walked down the hall to his apartment and heard Azer talking to Professor Justa. Vax took out his key and entered. The air conditioning felt good. It was a bit warm out.

"Vax! How come you didn't tell me about Azer's job! That's incredible! And to think, we thought he was gonna make you be a Lab Assistant! You're too bright for that, Azer!" Professor Justa said, slapping him on the back. 

"Please, Professor Justa, it's not that big of a deal." Azer said sitting down.

"You say that now, you'll realize one day how special this is." Professor Justa retorted.

Vax was pursing his lips. He was beginning to get a bit frustrated with all the attention Azer was receiving. He was determined to not let it show, but he knew Azer would catch on eventually. He sat down on the couch. Professor Justa did the same.

"Now, Azer. Please tell me about the dream." Justa said, taking out a pen and paper. 

Vax had his fill of hearing about his death. He went into the kitchen. He put the bag on the counter, immediately removing the cigarettes and putting them in his pocket. He put the vitamin water in the fridge. Then he took out a huge carving knife and sliced the bread. He put the sliced bread into a Tupperware container and put it into one of the cabinets. He put the second bottle of Dragonbreath on the counter next to the first, half-empty bottle. He threw away the bag they came in when he decided that he wanted another shot of Dragonbreath. He poured himself a shot and pounded it down. He washed the shot glass out in the sink and went back to living room. 

Justa and Azer were staring at each other in silence. Azer shot a nervous glance at Vax. 

"And the ring, let me take a look." Justa said in an unusually monotonous voice. He extended his hand.

Azer took the ring off and his neck and dropped it in Justa's hands. Justa looked at it for awhile before he said anything.

"I don't know many people who could translate this. I certainly am not one of those people. Fortunately for us, I have a friend in here in Jubilife who could read these without any problem. It's the man I'm staying with while I'm here in town. He's an old colleague of mine: Professor Max Hammter." Professor Justa said, placing the ring on the table.

Vax shot forward.

"That lunatic!" Exclaimed Vax.

Justa chuckled.

"Yes, Vax. The 'lunatic.' He's a whiz with ancient languages. I'm sure he could read this in a heartbeat." Justa said gazing at Vax.

Azer was confused.

"Who's Max Hammter?" He asked.

Vax got it first.

"Max Hammter is an apocalyptic crack pot. He spent nearly three years in the Ruins of Alph trying to deciper the Unown Code. He claims to have done it, although he has offered no proof towards his solution of the code. He's a lunatic. He says that the writings on the wall detail the rise of a dark lord who will bring us to the apocalypse: the Apocalord. It's a corny name, sounds like a B-rate Sci-Fi villain." Vax said sternly.

Azer chuckled. Justa obviously did not approve.

"Dr. Max Hammter is a leading expert in Unown research. He can read, translate, and transliterate in almost every known form of ancient language. His research, though very controversial, is beginning to be more widely accepted in modern circles." Justa said, glaring at Vax.

Azer's mood was suddenly changed. Hearing such praise from Professor Justa made him second guess Vax's analysis. He was torn.

"Well, let's take the ring to him and see what he has to say." Offered Azer.

"He teaches classes at Hearthome State University, he won't be back until tonight. We can meet him for dinner." Justa said.

"Dinner with a lunatic, wonderful." Vax asserted.

Justa tossed a pillow at him.

"You don't have to come, boy." He said angrily.

Azer tried to shift the mood. He hated when Vax and his grandfather fought about history. 

"So what do you think the dream is all about?" Azer asked Justa.

He turned to Azer and looked him straight in the eye.

"It's nothing good. I'll tell you what Hammter will tell you too. You're the Harbinger of the Apocalypse: the Apocalord. You're going to rise in power in the next few years and become an unbeatable trainer who dabbles in the dark forces. After that, you'll be unstoppable and will eventually cause the end of the world." Justa said without skipping a beat.

Azer turned white as a sheet. Vax sat next to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't listen to him. Hammter's a nut. The Occult is for hopeless people and mall goths, and you aren't either of those, last time I checked." Vax said smiling.

But Azer was unmoving. Justa continued.

"If you hadn't found the ring, I would think differently about this. But the ring signifies something special. Have you worn it yet?" 

Azer thought.

"No, not at all. I put it on the chain almost as soon as I got it." Azer said, glancing at the ring. 

Justa stared at it as well.

"Put it on. I'm curious to see what happens." Justa said shakily.

Azer slowly complied. He took a deep breath and put the ring on. All three of then leaned in. No one said anything. They held their breath for what seemed like hours. Justa leaned out first.

"Oh well. I thought something might happen when you put it on." He said disappointedly.

Azer was incredibly relieved. He took the ring off and put it back on his chain. 

"Well, I have some business to attend to at the Public Library. I'll meet you boys at dinner. Our reservations are under my name, for 6:00 PM, at the Shellder." He stood up and grabbed his bag. "I'll see you two later." He tipped his hat and went through the door.

"You're gonna be fine, man." Vax said reassuringly.

"Yeah I know…I just wanna hear the translation first, ya know?" Azer said nervously. 

Vax stood and walked to his room. Azer had the sudden urge to go to the bathroom. He went, but lost all feeling to do anything. He stared in the mirror and splashed water on his face. He was still in the clothes he wore to Rowan's office. He was loosening the top button of his collar when he thought he saw something peculiar on his ring finger. He looked at but quickly looked away. He couldn't be sure, but he thought he saw the Scar. 

He ran his hands under the water and then splashed more water on his face. He stared at his finger again, but now the Scar was just brighter. He nervously scratched at his finger and clawed at it. He shut his eyes and saw the Scar. He opened his eyes and it was glowing on his finger. 

Azer turned to the toilet and threw up.


	6. Two Rivals and a Dream

Chapter 6

Two Rivals and a Dream

The mark on Azer's finger began to fade a few hours later. He had put a Band-Aid over claiming it to be a cut he received while making himself a sandwich. Vax didn't seem too curious about it and Azer was thankful for that. 

The furniture men showed up almost precisely at 3:00 PM, much to Azer's surprise. They brought in his bed, dresser, bookshelf, desk, and desk chair. For an additional fee, they said they would build them for Azer. Azer's lack of technical wherewithal made this the only option. They had everything put together by 4:00 PM. Azer tipped them generously.

He went to his bankbook and took care of all the day's transactions, which still left him with just under $1000. He smiled and called out to Vax.

"Let's go get a TV!" He exclaimed.

Vax came into the living room with a smile.

"I already got us a home theatre system and everything! It's being delivered tomorrow!" He responded.

Azer was confused. He didn't know how Vax was going to finance that.

"Don't worry, mom and Mark are paying for it." Vax said almost immediately.

Vax still said Mark with a bit of a fake honor, Azer noticed. Vax wasn't too fond of Mark. Even after the divorce, Vax's parents still spoke, which Azer guessed was merely for Vax's sake. It was at his father's suggestion that he blow off college to be a Pokemon Trainer. He had been financing Vax since day one and without his father's money Azer knew that Vax wouldn't have made it. 

Vax's dad owned the Game Corner in Saffron City originally. He franchised the company and put a branch in nearly every region. Then he sold the business for an incredible profit and retired early. His father still managed to maintain an income by being a finance advisor for local businesses in Eterna City. 

There was a scary period of Vax's life where his father got caught up with Team Rocket, but he bailed on them before the authorities discovered them, so Vax's dad was able to avoid prosecution.

After Vax's dad moved the family to Sinnoh, while Vax and his sister, Viza, were still young, their parents divorced. Vax's dad maintained custody of the children, since their mother had no income. Their mom found work in a hair salon in Eterna City, and was able to battle for partial custody of the kids. Eventually, Vax's mom became the lead stylist and then took over the salon. She met loads of men, but none of them met the kids until Mark. He was an investor in the Eterna Group, a finance committed to various financial projects in the Eterna area. Their most recent project is the restoration of the Eterna Forest Mansion. 

Mark and Vax's mom were married about two years ago, something that neither Vax nor Viza were particularly happy about. Both parents still maintain residence in Eterna City, although Azer always thought Vax's dad stayed there just to be close to the kids.

Azer stood up and went in to his bedroom.

"I still need to buy bed sheets and a computer." He said to Vax.

"Save your money man, you don't want to blow it all at once." Vax said.

Azer nodded his head.

"I'm gonna go buy some bed sheets at least, you wanna come with?" Azer asked.

"Nah, I'm gonna grab a shower before dinner, I was working out again earlier, so I probably reek." Vax responded.

"Alright, I'll be back in a little while." Azer said grabbing his keys. "Do you need anything?" He said before walking out the door.

"No, I'm fine. Thanks." Vax responded.

"Alright, see ya later!" Azer said heading out the door. 

Vax went to his room and laid out an outfit for dinner. Then he grabbed a towel and washcloth and went to the bathroom. He took off his shirt, shorts, and briefs. He turned the cold water on and jumped right in the shower. After the initial shock of the near-freezing water, he shampooed his hair. He dropped the shampoo bottle. He bent over to pick it up when he smacked his head on the water knobs. He cursed loudly. When he opened his eyes, the world was dark. He tried to look around, but saw only darkness. He shut his eyes and opened them again. There was still darkness.

Suddenly there was a bright purple explosion in front of him. Out of the fire, a man walked towards him. Vax tried to run away, but found himself immobile and still quite naked. When the man was in range, his hand shot out and grabbed Vax's shoulder. He forced Vax onto his knees then he grabbed his chin and directed it to his eyes. The man's identity was revealed by a burst of light and it was an older-looking Azer.

He was dressed in an odd metallic armor. The armor was bejeweled by amethyst and onyx and he had a sword at his side. Behind him flowed a long royal purple cape. His hair was long and jet black. The hand that grabbed Vax was not wearing a gauntlet like the other. On the uncovered hand was the ring. It was glowing and the shapes inside were swirling. Vax was mesmerized by it. After a time, the ring stopped glowing. Vax's eyes were locked on Azer's. Azer spoke.

"No great lord has ever come to power without an accomplice. Your role in this is yet to come, my dear friend. When the time is right, a sacrifice will be made. You will have to make a difficult decision, and your decision will affect the fate of the world. Remember what I have told you, my friend. I will never rise to power without your help." Azer said in a cold, dark voice

"Remember." Whispered Azer and with that, the dream was over.

Azer woke up on the floor of his shower-tub. The water was still on, and the shampoo in his hair dried. He tore open the shower curtain and glanced at the clock-radio. It had been nearly two hours since he first got in the shower. He stood up slowly. His head pounded. He slowly finished his shower. He got out and dried himself. He opened the door and looked around at the darkened apartment.

"Azer? Are you here" Vax said to an empty apartment.

He walked down the hall to his room and grabbed his phone. He had one new voicemail message. He listened to it.

"Hey Vax, it's Azer. You won't believe who I bumped into: Krys Gritr! We saw each other at the store where I was shopping for sheets. He asked me to join him for lunch and I was wondering if you would like to join us? We're gonna be at the Oriental cuisine place on Apricorn Street. Join us if you want! I'll be back before dinner! See ya!" 

Vax would have loved to join them but he knew they would have been finished by now. He called Azer nonetheless. Azer picked up after three rings.

"Where were you?" Azer asked.

"Sorry, I was taking a nap. I'm a bit tired." Vax lied.

"Oh, alright. Well Krys says 'hi' nonetheless. I've got my sheets, I'm almost home." Azer said.

"I'll see you in a bit then." Vax said hanging up his phone.

He got into his dinner outfit and sat in the living room. The glasses from earlier were still on the table. Vax picked them up and went to the kitchen to wash them. After thoroughly drying the glasses, Vax took a seat in the living room and turned on a light. He grabbed the newspaper and scanned for an article to read. He found a piece about a new archaeological dig site that opened up in Hoenn region. 

Vax had never been to Hoenn, but thought this would be a great excuse to visit. The dig was open to the public. Scientists were excavating a recently discovered structure near one of the major cities. Vax would love to check it out. He wondered if he could get Azer or his grandfather to join him. 

Vax finished reading the article just as Azer walked in. He had three huge plastic bags at his side. He dropped the bags at his side and let out a huge sigh of relief.

"I didn't think…I was gonna…make it." He said, rubbing his arms. 

Vax laughed and grabbed two of the bags. Azer grabbed the other one and they walked towards Azer's room. They put the bags in the corner and both sat on the bed. 

"Thanks." Azer said, still rubbing his arms. 

"No problem. Do you want a hand putting the sheets on?" Vax said, feeling the mattress.

"Couldn't hurt." Azer said, standing up and grabbing the first bag.

They took out the bedding and spread it across the mattress. After carefully tucking the corners into the sides, they took the first cover and spread that across the bed as well. After that, they laid down the sheets Azer bought. Finally, They put the comforter on the bed. It was a deep purple. It matched very well with the black, metallic furniture he bought for the room. 

Vax looked around, it was a bit dark in the room, since there was only one light on the ceiling. 

"Bit dark in here, eh?" He said to Azer.

Azer reached into one of the bags and pulled out a small table lamp. He put it on the desk and turned it on.

"Much better." Vax commented. 

He went back into the living room and sat down.

"Are you just about ready? It's 5:30, we should be going soon." Vax said to Azer.

"Just give me five minutes to get change and wash up, alright?" Azer shouted from his room.

"Alright." Vax shouted back. He sat back on the couch and paged through the newspaper again. He breezed by several boring articles before finally stumbling across a gem: New Pokemon Virus Found! 

"Hey Azer! They found some new pokemon virus!" Vax yelled.

"Oh yeah? What does it say?" Azer yelled back. 

"Expert believe there is a new virus spreading among the Pokemon of the world. The virus, believed to have originated in Hoenn, is causing devastation in the Pokemon community of Hoenn. The virus is contracted through contact with an infected Pokemon. The virus goes undetected for the first 48 hours, and becomes incurable after 72 hours.This leaves 24 hours for trainers to notice the symptoms: abnormal sleeping or eating habits, lack of or disparity in bowel movements, unusual erratic or tacit behavior. The cure is administered by Pokemon Centers across the world and they indicate that they have more than enough stock. They only ask that you bring your Trainer Card or proof of ownership of the Pokemon. " Vax said loudly.

"Really specific, aren't they?" He interjected.

"After 72 hours, the virus enters the Pokemon's blood stream, and immediately causes clots in the arteries in the upper body and central nervous system. At this point, the only thing a trainer can do is watch as their Pokemon dies either from cardiac arrest or lack of oxygen in the brain." Vax said, becoming increasingly concerned at the end of the sentence.

He paused.

"Trainers should be overly cautious about their Pokemon if they come in contact with an unknown or wild Pokemon. We also note that some Pokemon are curiously immune to the virus. These species are: Munchlax, Snorlax, Mime Jr and Mr. Mime, Magby, Magmar, Magmortar, Elekid, Electabuzz, Electivire, Smoochum, Jynx, Scyther, Pinsir, Heracross, and Chansey. As researchers at Rowan Labs (Sinnoh) and Birch Labs (Hoenn) discover more species, we will announce them. Also, these two labs are working together on a researcher exchange program to find a cure for the virus. Inside sources at Rowan Labs in Sinnoh indicate that a vaccine may just be around the corner." Vax read.

"Is that it?" Azer asked after a few moments.

"Yeah that's it." Vax responded.

Azer walked out of his room dressed as formally as Vax. He looked very concerned. 

"Pretty serious. Hopefully the boss will have this cured in no time." Azer said shrugging his shoulders.

"Yeah, hopefully. All ready?" Vax said, moving on form the topic.

Azer stopped and shot him a confused look.

"Are you alright?" Azer asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Vax said, lying.

"No, something's wrong. You're not you today." Azer said, sitting on the couch.

Vax turned and faced him.

"You don't know?" He said, biting his lip.

"No, I do. I wanna hear it from you." Azer said sternly.

Vax sat on the couch.

"I took a chance becoming a Trainer. I threw away my future for a dream, man. I should have been at PLU studying history, archaeology, and all that other junk. But I'm not!" Vax shouted.

He jumped up with the last sentence.

"I take a chance every day! Every day, Azer! And and and…you didn't. You didn't take the risk; you filled out a job application. And now, you're getting paid for a job you didn't even apply for! You're getting paid for what I do! And all I get is a couple bucks every now and then from Dad! I hate it! How come you get my grandfather's respect and a pat on the back and all I got was a stern talking to? It's not frakking fair!" Vax screamed.

Azer sat dumbfounded on the couch. Vax turned and walked across the room. He sharply turned to Azer with tears in his eyes. Azer stood up.

"You're right, you're absolutely right. I don't deserve any of this. I was just in the right pace at the right time. And I'm really sorry that you feel this way." Azer said, wrapping an arm around Vax's shoulder.

Vax shrugged it off and walked away. 

"I don't want your sympathy or your apologies." He said sharply.

Azer was getting a bit pissed off.

"Well what the hell do you want, Vax?" Azer barked.

Vax turned around.

"Well it's settled then: we're rivals." Vax said quietly.

"I'm not sure I heard you right. We're rivals?" Azer said in disbelief.

"You heard me right." Vax said walking away.

"So we can't be friends anymore. I guess I should just move out then." Azer said sitting down.

Vax laughed. He walked over to Azer and put his hand's on Azer's shoulders.

"It's not a bad thing you idiot. Think of it like this. We spot each other. Keep each other on our toes, ya know?" Vax said tossing Azer's around.

Azer was not amused.

"I see. And we'll battle, of course. And always try to be one-upping each other too, I guess?" Azer said brushing Vax off.

"Of course we'll battle. And well, yeah, we'll have to one-up each other. Hey come on, man, I gotta beat Rowan's new golden boy." Vax said smiling.

Azer turned around with a smile on his face.

"You're right. This could be good. And I've gotta rough up Professor Justa's grandson." He said with a light laugh.

"Good. I'm glad we see eye-to-eye on this. And we'll always be friends, idiot. Best friends. The way it is now is the way it's always going to be. I promise." Vax said extending his pinky.

"I promise you we'll always be best friends." Azer extending his pinky as well.

They locked pinkies and shook and then worked their way into a hug. 

Azer accidentally brushed his hand against the back of Vax's head and noticed a bump.

"Where did this bump come from?" Azer asked, concerned.

"Remember when I told you that I was taking a nap…" Vax said trailing off.


End file.
